One Ohio couple turned to in vitro fertilization to help solve their conception woes. However, the couple’s world came crashing down after one phone...

One Ohio couple turned to in vitro fertilization to help solve their conception woes. However, the couple’s world came crashing down after one phone call from their doctor.

Wholly relating to Carolyn and Sean Savage’s struggles would be difficult for just about anyone. When trying to find words to describe their situation, unique would be slightly inadequate—what they went through is shocking.

In March of 2008, Carolyn successfully gave birth to a baby girl, Mary-Kate—their little girl was conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF). However, their doctors “created more embryos than could safely be transferred and so we had those cryo-preserved for future pregnancy attempts,” Carolyn said in an interview with the Christian Broadcast Network.

Then, six months after the birth of Mary-Kate, Carolyn and Sean decided to have another child. So, they went back to the IVF clinic, where doctors performed a frozen-embryo transfer. After the procedure, doctors will perform pregnancy tests to ensure the IVF was a success. However, “Carolyn had the pregnancy test that morning, and it is very unusual to be waiting that long for the results,” Sean said.

While at his office, Sean got a call from their doctor and “the first thing [they] said was ‘do you have privacy?’” Sean was informed of a devastating clerical error—the doctors accidentally thawed and implanted another couple’s embryos. Sean’s wife was pregnant with another couple’s child.

He rushed home so he could tell his wife, in person, what happened. After she heard the news, the couple knew what they had to do. They would carry this other couple’s child, Logan, and relinquish custody after his birth.

To add to Carolyn’s misery, early in the pregnancy, doctors also informed her that this would be her last pregnancy. Sean and Carolyn still wanted to have a child, and so the couple opted to utilize a gestational carrier with their remaining frozen embryos. Doctors implanted Carolyn’s embryos, and, to everyone’s delight, the carrier became pregnant.

One week after Carolyn gave birth to Logan, she received another devastating phone call—the gestational carrier had a miscarriage. Carolyn and Sean’s hope of having another child dwindled, but the two weren’t ready to give up yet.

In April of 2011, their perseverance paid off—the couple announced they were expecting twins. They stayed hopeful and used the power of their faith to carry them through a difficult time, and by some miracle, they were able to conceive.